


Color Burst

by dreamonlosers



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Appendicitis, Friendship, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Relationships, Recovery, Sickfic, Surgery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-21
Updated: 2017-10-21
Packaged: 2019-01-20 13:02:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12433419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamonlosers/pseuds/dreamonlosers
Summary: It started around maybe three in the morning. She was sitting at her computer, scrolling through scores of intel and cross-referencing information regarding her brother when she first noticed the dull pain throbbing in her side.





	Color Burst

**Author's Note:**

> Another sickfic! I wanted to explore more of Pidge's friendship with both Shiro and Lance this time, so here we are. I loved writing this and hope you all enjoy reading it!
> 
> I think Pidge would be very hesitant to accept help, being both herself and a teenager. And everyone just wants her to be okay.
> 
> My medical knowledge is based on both personal experience and the internet.

It started around maybe three in the morning. She was sitting at her computer, scrolling through scores of intel and cross-referencing information regarding her brother when she first noticed the dull pain throbbing in her side. Pidge hadn’t felt anything like it before, except for when she got punched that one time and the bruise it left behind was pretty nasty and painful when she poked at it - so it felt like that, constantly. However, there wasn't enough pain to actually make her consider it and she dismissed it as a mere menstrual cramp.

(She actually had no clue if she was on time with her cycle - space calendars didn't sync up with earth calendars. And she stopped caring; it would come when it wanted to).

Pidge simply shifted onto her back to relieve some of the pressure. After that, it was hardly noticeable. Another four hours passed until someone went to ‘wake her up’ (not knowing that she had pulled an all nighter).

Nothing about it had become a problem until she got to training with the team a day after the aching started. The pain had gotten a bit worse, and she finally admitted to herself that it wasn't a usual cramp. But going through the memories of anatomy textbooks she had once tried to read before realizing medicine wasn’t her niche, it could've been a number of things that tended not to be serious: a ruptured ovarian cyst, some bad food or maybe it really was just a weird cramp. 

The droid she was going up against had been set at level fifteen, no higher and no lower. She had gone up against worse, both droid and living, and she considered it to be her warm up round. Neither of them were armed; she needed to practice her hand-to-hand combat skills so she wouldn't be too reliant on her bayard in the future. That's what Shiro had said, while telling Keith that he needed to practice more with his.

Pidge would later admit that she was getting lazy with her punches, especially her kicks, which always needed a bit of help considering her height. She knew the pain was making her weary, but she also knew that shouldn't stop her from getting as much training in as she could. A little ache couldn't get in her way - there'd be no room for that in a real battle, and it certainly wasn’t fitting for a paladin of Voltron. No way it was going to stop her.

Then the droid hit her right in gut. Hard. Pidge felt white hot pain blaze through her abdomen and she keeled over, vomiting what little breakfast she had onto the training floor. It was as if it knew her weak spot in that moment, and it took advantage of her position and kicked her onto her side. For a moment, it held its fists in the air and reared up to punch her, but it whirred down before it got the chance. 

“Pidge!” Shiro exclaimed. His voice was heard in the room and through her helmet. “Oh Christ, are you okay?”

She clutched her gut and closed her eyes to keep back the stinging tears, but nodded her head nonetheless. The other paladins huddled around her, but Shiro gestured for them to give her some space as she recovered.

“I’m fine. I’m okay,” she insisted. Although each movement triggered a wave of pain to surge through her body, she got onto her knees and brushed her hair away. Shiro rubbed a hand over her back as she caught her breath. It was coming out all ragged and labored, but it was coming back. Yeah, she'd be okay.

“Are you sure? What happened there?” he asked, helping her onto her feet. The others took a step back, trying to be supportive but not really knowing how. No one had ever thrown up on the training floor before, although Hunk had a few close calls in the past.

“Yeah uh,” she said. “Just...girl stuff, I guess.”

She saw Lance and Hunk scrunch their faces up and recoil, Lance being more expressive of the two. Keith had his arms crossed over his chest and just looked...pensive. Or confused. It was hard to tell with him.

She didn't look Shiro in the eyes. He knew she was lying - possibly - and for some reason didn't say anything. Maybe it was because the others were there, or he just didn't know how to approach it. They were all embarrassed on some level, and the team sent her off to the showers and told her to get some rest.

Heat had been coming off her skin all day, and when she turned on the cold water she knew it wasn't from her burning computer or the intense training session. She let the shower run its course, limiting herself to thirty minutes or until her skin looked like it was made of raisins. Sweat washed off her body but continued to feel the little beads forming on her forehead and upper lip. Something was wrong, considering she was chilled to the bone while feeling like the sun was personally beating her up.

Fevers sucked ass, and she really didn't know how to tell anyone. Either she could stick herself in a cryopod and be unconscious for a couple of hours or quietly sleep it off in her bedroom so no one would have to know. While the cryopod would have her numb, she really didn’t want people to wonder about her. They all had their own business.

Dressed in just her shorts and large t shirt, she wandered into the kitchen for some water. An entire jug, apparently, because there was no such thing as being too hydrated before passing out blank for several hours. 

And then Shiro was there. She hadn’t heard him walk in and she nearly dropped the jug when she saw him standing with his arms crossed. Somehow, six feet of Shiro seemed like a lot more than it was before. Maybe it was just a foot difference between the two of them, but it felt more like a football field to her.

He wasn't happy with her. Probably because she lied to him and didn’t let him help her, because that’s what Shiro needed to do - help. He said, “You should eat something. I’m sure your breakfast is gone.”

It was, and her stomach was empty, but oddly enough, she wasn't hungry. In fact, thinking of food made her nauseous and she did _not_ want to upchuck again, so she shook her head and told him, “No, I’m good. I’m just gonna go lie down for a bit.”

The black paladin was quiet. She knew he was giving her his knowing stare, but she chose to ignore that in favor of leaving the room. Maybe she’d get out of this with her dignity intact, as if it wasn’t already gone.

“Pidge,” he said before she could open the door. She froze, bit her lip and turned around. It wouldn’t be good to blatantly ignore her commanding officer, and she knew he’d just come after her. Her strategy was to just pull a Nixon - deny, deny, deny. Everything was okay.

“I’m really fine, Shiro. Like I said - girl stuff. It’s all gross.” She hadn’t started bleeding yet, though. And she was lying, but there was no easy way to dig herself out of this deep shit hole. He’d have to do it himself if he really wanted to.

Turns out, Shiro did. Damn his good intentions. She had one hand on the doorknob, about to make a break for it when he said something that made her bones rattle and her stomach drop to her feet. He used his deepest, most authoritative voice that he only used when the paladins were distracted or weren’t listening and he would be frustrated.

“Katherine Marie Holt.”

It sounded nothing like how her dad used to say it when she got in trouble for messing with Matt or when her mom got mad at her for talking back to the teacher. This was a bit more disappointed, a bit more...scared. And she was mad that he said it - that wasn’t a fair card to use. He wasn’t her parent, and it wasn’t okay for him to use it against her. Just because he knew her real name didn’t mean that he could use it to boss her around.

Pidge had stopped in her tracks, finally looking at his face and straightening her posture in spite of the throbbing pain.

“Hey, asshole, don’t do that again. You’re a leader, not my dad,” she huffed. Her face was red and hot, and not just because of the fever. She wasn’t in the mood to be condescended to like that. “Katie is gone - I’m Pidge.”

He was embarrassed, too. Immediately regretful. “Pidge, I didn’t - I mean, you’re hurting, and I know it’s not your period.”

Yuck. It was weird to hear him say it aloud.

“And you’re right, it was inappropriate of me.” Shiro took a step forward. Yeah, it had only been appropriate that one time on the bridge when she thought he had attacked her brother out of anger and bloodlust. That was their moment of intimacy, and when she first knew that she could really trust him. “I’m sorry. I just needed you to listen to me - what’s really going on?”

She took a breath. It was time to face the bull head-on and swallow her pride like it was a big pill and there was no water to help it go down. With each minute, the pain was getting worse and eventually it would be too much to bear. Better she say it herself than wait for someone to find her passed out on the floor and curled into herself.

“Okay, yeah, it does hurt,” she sighed, placing a cupped hand on her side. “Right here. Since yesterday morning.”

Then she added in a low voice, “And, uh, I’m sorry about the whole ‘asshole’ thing. That was inappropriate, too.”

Shiro’s face suddenly slacked. She wasn't sure if he was heart-dropping scared or simply relieved and he beckoned for her to come over so he could examine her. He also said, “Don’t worry about it. I’m glad that you told me you had a problem.”

There was a double meaning in his words that neither of them chose to acknowledge.

Pidge shrugged and gave in to his request, wincing as she lifted herself onto the surface. She let her legs dangle like they did when she was a kid at the doctor’s office - she surely didn’t expect them to touch the ground, but surely they should’ve been _closer_ after all those years. 

“Did you get hit there at all?” Shiro asked. She shook her head. “I’m going to put some pressure on it, okay? Tell me if it hurts.”

Shiro’s human hand brushed over the spot, then he pressed his palm against her shirt and, fuck, that hurt like hell. Instinct had her grabbing his wrist and pulling away from him as a slew of unconventional swears left her mouth. The pain made her feel dizzy and black spots were dancing in her vision like she was going to faint on the kitchen counter.

“Motherfucking -” she started, but her breath ran out before she could continue. The black paladin gripped her shoulders to keep her steady as she wobbled. His mouth hung open, closing just once before opening again.

Shiro said, “Pidge, I think this is an appendicitis.”

“A _what_?”

“Appendicitis,” he said slowly. “Your appendix is near the end of the large intestine. I think it's inflamed.”

Her voice was quiet. She wasn't supposed to take any medicine classes until her third year at the garrison, and she hadn’t had any previous education on the matter even within her father’s old textbook. Still, anyone with half a wit could conclude that something being inflamed wasn’t healthy.

“That's not good.”

“Yeah, it’s not. And we need to find a way to remove it, soon. I’m sure Coran knows something that could help with -”

“Wait, remove it?” Pidge squeaked. “Um, aren’t things like that supposed to stay inside of my body? This doesn’t sound right.”

Shiro shook his head, helping her down from the counter to get her to the infirmary He offered to carry her, but she had already lost enough of her dignity. “Usually, yes, but not this time. Do you remember learning about vestigial structures in biology?”

Yeah, she had. Pidge had always been more interested in robotics than biology, but learning about different homologous and analogous structures had helped her design a more functional leg for her homemade droid. Somewhere in there was the information about vestigial organs and limbs - things that a creature had evolved out of needing. Like the tailbone, wisdom teeth and the...appendix.

“Oh, right,” she sighed. “Those little bastards.”

The sickbay felt like a farther walk than it actually was. Even though he slowed down for her, Pidge had to keep up with his long strides. At least they were lucky enough to find Coran in the hallway, and he knew immediately that something was wrong with her and trailed behind the two. Apparently, she looked horrible.

Pidge felt something grow rotten deep inside of her, and it wasn’t the appendix. People were worrying about her, and even though it wasn't her fault, she felt... _guilty_. Like she was wasting time and resources when she could just get over it. Really, it was embarrassing to look so weak in front of the ones expecting her to help them save the whole damn universe.

But it wasn't her fault.

Coran had hooked her up to some kind of monitor that created a holographic outline of her body. It stood at the same height, had the same posture and was just pretty creepy. None of her more specific details showed up - it was just shaded blue and it flickered when she ran her hand through it.

Near the lower right of her abdomen was an angry red splotch with bits of yellow around the perimeter. That was her appendix, Shiro said. It seemed really small. How could something so small cause that much pain?

Then again, she was known to be brutal towards her opponents, and she was pretty small herself. 

Matters only took a turn for the worse when Coran scrutinized the image, not looking at either of them when he asked, “So, uh, what exactly is this?”

Alteans didn't have appendixes, it seemed. If they had at one point, then they stopped being useful. So when the people used their shape-shifting abilities to send them away, they no longer showed in their genetic makeup. No one had a problem when kids started being born without them, so any research on the appendix was outdated.

Shiro filled him in on the details the best he could, even showing his own appendectomy scar from when he was in his late teens. It blended in easily with the other scars marking his body from when he was a prisoner. Pidge didn't like that.

“Oh, I see,” Coran said. “Well, the good news is that I’ve dabbled in surgery before, being taught by Altea’s best surgeons. It was all a part of my training. Being an advisor for royalty, I had to be educated in as many fields as possible. I’ve had somewhat of a finger in every pie…”

Shiro interrupted him. “Coran. What's the bad news?”

Coran stopped fiddling with the machines and rubbed his neck, sheepish. “The bad news is, well, uh, I’ve never actually held the scalpel, much less have the chance familiarize myself with human anatomy. Everything I learned was hypothetical.”

Oh. That really wasn't good. Pidge’s stomach lurched and felt like she was going to be sick again; her appendix had become a ticking time bomb that could burst at any moment, or so Shiro cautiously told her. There was no sure way of getting her out of this alive. She could _die_.

She could die without helping her friends defeat Zarkon. She could die without ever seeing her brother or her father again. There would be no one to pilot the green lion, and then they wouldn't be able to form Voltron.

All because of a stupid evolutionary glitch. 

And no, goddammit, she wasn't about to cry. Instead, she turned to Coran and asked, “Do you think you can remove my appendix, though?”

“I’ve only ever practiced general surgery on cadavers,” he started. “Even then, they were all Alteans. And that was three hundred years before I went into the cryopod. So, I suppose if I consult the data I had put into the castle after you lot came about, I could find information regarding Earthling surgeries and construct an interactive graphic of what I need to do.”

Coran had already begun to click through the layers of blue screens, pushing some images onto others until there was a holographic table so that the Pidge projection could lie on its back. Then another figure came about; it had the shape of Coran himself, dressed in scrubs and holding a surgical knife. Her eyes grew wide as the image began to cut into the body in front of her.

She hurled. Again.

Luckily, she managed to get all of it into the wastebin beside her, but the sudden and violent movement didn't help the pain. As she coughed, her muscles contracted and agony washed over her. Pidge groaned and felt someone - Shiro - pull her mass of hair away from her face. It was a pretty mortifying experience.

“Coran, let's pause that demonstration for a second,” he said. “We should get the others in here. Ultimately, it’s your decision, but they should know what's going on. You know they’re all worried about you.”

God, that sucked. She didn't have enough energy to argue, however, and Shiro called the others in through the helmets’ intercoms. Allura was first to arrive, her hair pulled back into a frizzy bun and her blue eyes wide as she struggled to understand what was going on with the paladin. She had been educated in many subjects before Altea fell, but medicine hadn’t been one of them. Being the curious and persistent princess she was, she had a lot of questions as well, but none that anyone knew how to answer. 

At least she knew to offer Pidge some painkillers, which neither Coran or Shiro had thought to do. She also put her hand on top of Pidge’s own despite the green paladin not being very touchy; the princess was offering whatever comfort she could. She decided to embrace it, turning her hand over and squeezing Allura’s lightly.

They waited for the others to enter the room. Pidge looked over towards Shiro, who took the task of explaining the situation to everyone again while managing a calm demeanor like he had done so many times before.

“Dude, that’s gross,” Lance said. Pidge leaned over to hit his shoulder, smiling over the pain for the first time in a while. He shoved her back with less strength than he would usually use, which she very much appreciated. At least someone could have a sense of humor about this.

“What, we’re not going to take her to an actual doctor?” Hunk asked, bewildered. “No offense, Coran. But we could take one of the lions and cloak it, and they’d operate on her before realizing that she was a missing child. By then, we’d be gone.”

Keith shook his head and said, “Someone would notice it enter the atmosphere, cloaked or not. The Galra would pick up on whatever commotion would come after.”

That was true. Anything they had would create too much of an impact for them to go unnoticed.

Allura wasn’t too happy about agreeing with him, but she added, “Keith’s right. We all want the best for Pidge, but we can’t risk exposing ourselves to the Galra, and possibly compromising your planet as well.”

Hunk insisted that there had to be a way, but Pidge stopped him before he could talk himself blue. “Guys, stop. If Coran feels like he can take out my appendix, then I want him to do it. How about that?”

He walked over to her and placed his hand on his chest. She could tell he was trying not to grin too wide. Even though his eyes looked worried, he was glad that she trusted him. “I’m honored that you’d let me do this for you.”

“Of course,” she said. “So, how do we do this?”

The sickbay was turned into a makeshift operating room. Keith and Lance argued over the position of the metal table they were rolling in, Lance claiming that it wasn’t high enough for them and Keith saying that it was fine where it was. Their argument escalated when Lance started to adjust it, and it turned into a light tussle for control.

Allura and Shiro went about collecting the tools and items necessary for the surgery. Hunk preoccupied himself with making the room accessible and sterile for Coran, adjusting carts and trays for the best outcome, while the soon-to-be surgeon isolated himself to study the holographic simulation. Meanwhile, Pidge was sitting on the rolling chair, not helping. 

She was useless, for one of the few times in her life. It wasn’t something she was very familiar or comfortable with, and any time she tried to contribute, someone told her to sit down and rest. One of her ambitions was to always help people, from when she first studied robotics to when she took the role of the green paladin. Pidge was supposed to be independent. This was her surgery, and all she was allowed to do was put on her own paper gown and assure everyone that she hadn’t eaten in the past twenty-four hours. She got that right.

The next time she saw Coran, she made sure to thank him. Forever would she be indebted to him, but of course he wouldn’t say anything about it. He touched her shoulder and told her that it was going to be okay. Maybe it was the painkillers, but the smile he gave her was reminiscent of her father before he went off to Kerberos.

It made her sad.

At least the painkillers were finally starting to kick in. The relief was similar to when she had beaten a cold and could finally breathe through her nose after a few days of thinking she’d never feel normal again - as if she had forgotten what it was like to not be in pain.

They were making her woozy, too. And tired. Her exhaustion was creeping up on her after two sleepless nights and her eyes grew heavy. Then, somehow, she was laughing. Although she didn’t really know why, everything just got funnier. 

Shiro came over to check on her at some point, with his tuft of white hair reminding her of a skunk. That was hilarious, she said, and she may have attempted to touch it if her memory served her right. He may have bent down to let her, looking confused but amused by her behavior.

“Alright, Pidge, I think it’s time to put you under,” he said, rolling the chair over to the table and lifting her onto the operating table. She couldn’t remember how long she had been sitting there - maybe twenty minutes, maybe three hours. Preparing for a surgery was a lot of work, it seemed. She didn’t do any of it.

Pidge closed her eyes.

Pidge was her name. That was pretty silly, she thought.

“Pidge. Podge. Pudge. Pidgeon. Coo coo,” she giggled. Shiro quirked an eyebrow to entertain her musings. Then, gently, she continued with, “Coo.”

“Uh huh,” Shiro smiled. “Coo. Are you ready?”

She nodded. Someone - Coran - came over and placed a mask on her face. She felt like Darth Vader, and she heard him tell her that she was going to have to count down soon. Shiro was still there, telling her that it was going to be okay but she didn’t need to hear it because she could hardly understand what he was saying, anyways. All she cared about was that she was going to sleep soon, and she could forget about all the pain that had lead her to this table.

There were still voices, and a puff of gas hit her face. She remembered what she had to do, and she started going, “Ten, nine, eight…”

Pidge didn’t make it to one.

—

Someone was talking. That was the first thing she knew when she woke up. And she didn’t wake up right away - it had been a struggle of going in and out of consciousness for however long. Her vision was blurry, her mouth was dry and the blanket wasn’t enough to keep her warm. 

If it was up to her, she’d be in a cryopod. Even if they were better for internal injuries like broken bones and concussions, she would still prefer that she rest in the thick healing jelly that would keep her safe and sound. At least she would be knocked out until she was fully recovered - there was still an ache in her side that wasn’t very pleasant, and a rush of nausea over her hunger.

“Pidge?”

A moment passed for her eyes to adjust to the bright light, and she saw Lance in front of her. He was in his pajamas, and the two of them were in her room. Someone had taken her there, past the clutter on the floor and mess of electronics on the bed. 

She grumbled, not quite sure what she was trying to say but Lance managed to understand it. He told her, “It’s gone. Coran did it.”

Her appendix had been taken out. Right, that’s what the surgery was - an appendectomy. She shifted to face him, smacking her lips and still feeling out of it. There was a bowl of ice chips on the night stand and she reached for them.

“Oh, here.” Lance passed the dish to her, and the cold felt colder than it should have. Her fingers danced through the chips until she managed to grab some and push them into her mouth, letting them slide around and begin to melt. The sensation was harsh against her teeth, but she had been out for some hours - she embraced it. Better than being dead. “How do you feel?”

Pidge could feel things.The coldness of the ice, the warmth of the pillow and the softness of the comforter. That was pretty nice. She mumbled, “Sleepy. C’mere.”

“On your bed?”

“Yeah.”

She shifted closer to the wall so Lance would have some room. He stayed on top of the covers and rested his hands on his stomach, looking over at her. “Y’know, my older sister had an appendectomy when I was thirteen. We all thought she was dying - she hid it for so long because we had no insurance and stuff. Then she was bawling like a baby on the bathroom floor.”

“And when we got to the hospital, they wanted to give her an ultrasound because they thought she might be having a pregnancy complication or something - which wasn’t true, and they just wanted to give us more shit to pay for. My mom was _livid_. So, from outside the exam room, I hear her yelling at some intern and my sister crying and screaming. They hadn’t given her any morphine because they didn’t think we’d be able to pay for it - which I’m pretty sure is illegal or something, but whatever.”

“By the time the doctor actually got to see her, her appendix had already burst and formed, like, an abscess or something to block the infection. She was sent home with some antibiotics that we could barely afford because they couldn’t operate without possibly killing her. I mean, eventually, they were able to remove it, but if we could’ve gotten a lawyer my mom would’ve sued their asses off.”

Pidge had been resting her chin on Lance’s upper arm, listening intently with her mouth slightly agape. Her vision was still blurry, but it was because her glasses were on the nightstand and she wasn’t going to reach over to get them while he was talking.

“Anyways, after downing a bunch of the meds, I was keeping her company and she told me that I kept making her laugh in the car between the tears and it was making the pain worse. I felt pretty bad, but then she said that it somehow made her feel better. Did it make you feel better?”

She tried to remember everything before the surgery. Lance teasing her about her appendicitis, then bickering with Keith over some dumb shit - yeah, it was pretty funny, even before she went all loopy with painkillers. “I think so. Yeah, it did. Thanks.”

“Hell yeah,” he said. Then, after a moment: “I really did want you to be okay. It freaked me out when you went so long without telling anyone. What if your appendix burst like my sister’s did, and Coran wasn’t able to help you?”

Shit. She didn’t want him to worry - that was the whole point of keeping the pain a secret. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to scare you guys, I just didn’t know how to say anything. And, uh, it was kind of embarrassing.”

“Pidge,” Lance said. “Admitting that your appendix is dying is less embarrassing than telling us all about your period.”

“Shut up.”

“No way,” he laughed. 

They were both silent for a while, just enjoying each other’s company. Pidge took some more ice chips and even dropped one on Lance’s collar bone, pretending that it was an accident and laughing at his reaction. He put another one in her hair and it got caught in the tangles, and she whined that he was harassing an injured patient. 

She fell asleep not long after, and Lance was gone when she woke up for a brief moment. However, Shiro was there in his place, asleep in the chair with his arms crossed. If she could, she would go over and hug him. They weren’t going to leave her alone.

A day later she was up and about. Princess Allura was the first person to see her trying to walk, and she rushed to her side. She seemed ecstatic that Pidge was recovering, and she gushed about the surgery and how focused Coran was. While she had been resting, Allura went on to find medicine journals that belonged to old Altean physicians and surgeons and she spoke about how the experience had awoken her to an entire field to study.

Allura joked, “Really, I owe you one.”

Pidge laughed. “Totally.”

The other paladins were in the training room, and shouted their joy when they saw Pidge. They tried to give her sweaty hugs and she pretended to be grossed out by it all, but really, she loved the attention and loved that her friends were so happy. She had to tell Hunk to stop squeezing so hard, and even got her hair ruffled by Keith. 

As the others went on to practice, Shiro sat with her on the bench. No way was he going to let her spar with a freshly stitched wound, but he was still going to teach her. He would comment on the other paladins’ techniques, their strengths and weaknesses and tell her how she could get out of whatever situation was going on in front of them.

She interrupted his explanation of Hunk’s headlock on Keith to say, “I’m so sorry about keeping it a secret. I should’ve said something - it was stupid of me to think that I could get away with it.”

Shiro looked at her with surprise, but then softened his expression and placed his hand on her shoulder. He seemed to make sure that it was his human one and he said, “I know. And it’s okay - just know that you can always come to us if you’re having a problem. Especially me. We all want the best for you.”

Pidge nodded. Yeah, they all wanted the best for her. And it was okay to accept some help every once in awhile - everyone would be better off if they didn’t keep secrets from each other, no matter how weird or shameful they might be.

As long as her friends were there, she’d get through it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
